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Description

Volcanoes are unquestionably one of the most spectacular and awe-inspiring features of the physical world. Our paradoxical fascination with them stems from their majestic beauty and powerful, if sometimes deadly, destructiveness.
Notwithstanding the tremendous advances in volcanology since ancient times, some of the mystery surrounding volcanic eruptions remains today. The Encyclopedia of Volcanoes summarizes our present knowledge of volcanoes. Through its thematic organization around the melting of the earth, it provides a comprehensive source of information on the multidisciplinary influences of volcanic eruptions--both the destructive as well as the beneficial aspects.
The majority of the chapters focus on the geoscience-related aspects of volcanism (radioactive heat source, melting rock, ascent of magma, surface phenomena associated with exiting magma, extraterrestrial volcanism, etc.). In addition, complementary chapters discuss the multidisciplinary aspects of volcanism; these include the history of volcanology, geothermal energy resources, interaction with the oceans and atmosphere, health aspects of volcanism, mitigation of volcanic disasters, post-eruption ecology, and the impact of eruptions on organismal biodiversity.

In addition to its appeal to educators, students, and professional and amateur scientists, the Encyclopedia of Volcanoes functions as an important information resource for administrators and officials responsible for developing and implementing volcanic hazard mitigation around the world.

Key Features

The first and only reference work to cover all aspects of volcanology

More than 80 separate peer-reviewed articles--all original contributions by leading authors from major institutions of science around the world, commissioned for this work

An integrated transition from the volcanic process through hazards, risk, and societal impacts, with an emphasis on how volcanoes have influenced and shaped society

Details

About the Authors

Haraldur Sigurdsson

Affiliations and Expertise

University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, Rhode Island, U.S.A.

Bruce Houghton

Bruce Houghton is the Gordon MacDonald Professor in Volcanology at University of Hawaii at Manoa and Hawaiian State Volcanologist and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He is also Science Director at the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at University of Hawaii. Previously he had a career of twenty five years as a volcanologist in New Zealand, culminating in leading the scientific response to the 1995-96 eruption of Ruapehu volcano. Bruce has published over 220 research papers in international journals and has worked in Alaska, Chile, El Salvador, Greece, Hawaii, Iceland, Italy, Germany, Nicaragua, Thailand and New Zealand.

Affiliations and Expertise

Hazel Rymer

Hazel Rymer is presently the Dean and Director of Studies in the Faculty of Science and Profesor of Environmental Volcanology.

Hazel has developed and championed the use of microgravity as a tool for monitoring active volcanoes. She has used this method to identify sub-surface processes at calderas in a state of unrest and at persistently active volcanoes and this has given geoscientists considerable insight into the range of mechanisms responsible for initiating and sustaining volcanic activity. The technique Hazel pioneered is now the standard method for gravity monitoring on volcanoes; it remains the only way to quantify the sub-surface mass changes that occur before, during and after eruptions.

Affiliations and Expertise

Open University, Milton Keynes, UK

John Stix

John Stix has studied active volcanoes for 26 years, specializing in volcanic gases, eruption mechanisms, and the impact of volcanic activity. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in volcanology, natural hazards, and environmental geology. He also is involved in field courses, where he exposes students to hands-on observations of natural processes such as volcanic eruptions and floods. He has been involved in many training courses and workshops in Canada, the US, and Latin America to teach volcanology. He has collaborated extensively with colleagues in Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Ecuador in volcano studies and volcanic hazards. From 2003 to 2010 he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Bulletin of Volcanology, the leading international journal related to the study of volcanoes and volcanism. He is currently part of an international team to drill into an active silicic magma body beneath Krafla volcano in Iceland.

Affiliations and Expertise

McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Steve McNutt

Steve McNutt is a Professor in the School of Geosciences at the University of South Florida (USF). He has worked on volcanic processes using seismology, infrasound, and lightning instruments for over 35 years. He worked half time for the Alaska Volcano Observatory from 1991-2012 and was closely involved in monitoring efforts for eruptions at Spurr, Pavlof, Shishaldin, Augustine, Okmok, Kasatochi, and Redoubt volcanoes. He coordinates seismology research at USF, and presently supervises 3 graduate students and a Post-Doc. His research interests include: 1) studies of source and propagation effects for volcanic tremor, low-frequency events, and explosion earthquakes; 2) volcanic hazards assessments in Alaska, California, and Central America; 3) the mechanical behavior of volcanoes, including periodicity of eruptions, and the effects of earth tides, sea level variations, and tectonic stresses on triggering eruptive activity; 4) volcano infrasound; and 5) volcanic lightning. From July 1999 to July 2007 he served as Secretary-General for the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior.

Affiliations and Expertise

University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

Reviews

"Everything you ever wanted to know about volcanism is contained in this text [...] the authoritative reference on volcanology for years to come."
--CALIFORNIA GEOLOGY, May/June 2000
"This monumental volume, authored by more than 100 leading specialists, dwarfs all previous works . . . the publisher has done a remarkable job."
--CHOICE, June 2000
"This volume is the first sophisticated attempt at a comprehensive reference work about volcanoes and volcanic processes...The articles can be quite technical but not any more than they need to be in giving serios academic treatment to the topic. Readers who are less familiar with this area of geology will find the glossary in each article to be very useful...This volume is indispensable for anyone who is serious about understanding volcanoes on a sophisticated level. From the highly useful overview of specific topics and processes to the definitions of particular terms, there is no better or more comprehensive work available--nor is there likely to be....this valuable resource is highly recommended for larger public and academic libraries."
--BOOKLIST/April 1, 2000
"This impressive work covers all aspects of volcanism....Geared for college students and researchers, the well-written articles include a glossary that defines terms within the context of the article, which is very helpful to readers unfamiliar with the terminology...Works such as The Encyclopedia of Earthquakes & Volcanoes are nowhere near as comprehensive as this volume...An excellent source for those who want more than general information on any aspect of volcanology, this volume is highly recommended for academic libraries."
--Teresa Berry, University of Tennessee Library, LIBRARY JOURNAL/April 1, 2000
"The comprehensive and up-to-date Encyclopedia of Volcanoes represents good, broad scientific writing. Important topics about volcanoes that are rarely addressed in stuff scientific journals, such as volcanoes in art, literature and film, are to be found here. The book's 83 chapters are written by volcanological scholars and reviewed by their peers. The authors did not 'dumb down' other work, or cut and paste from their scientific journal publications, but instead present difficult science clearly. The problem of jargon, a curse of scientific education, is addressed upfront by a glossary in each chapter. The science presented clearly reveals openings for new investigations.
--William I. Rose, Michigan Technological University, NATURE, March 2000
"The Encyclopedia of Volcanoes is thorough, comprehensive and fully deserving of its title....The articles are scholarly and will be of most interest to the student and scientific researcher...each article has its own glossary that helps make the book more useful to the general reader as well as a list of further readings, some more extensive than others. There are also more than 800 graphs, charts, tables, and illustrations that complement the nearly 1400 pages of text...The Encyclopedia of Volcanoes is unique in its extensive coverage of this fascinating subject. There is a lot of useful scientific information here for the money.
--AGAINST THE GRAIN, February 2000
" The Encyclopedia of Volcanoes covers just about everything one could wish to know about volcanoes and at 1,359 pages of text no other single book can hope to compete with the mass of volcanological information it contains (all 3.5 kg of it). Written by 112 expert authors, the Encyclopedia of Volcanoes will be the reference work for a long time....
Undergraduate geology students, professional volcanologists, planetologists, and historians of science will find the Encyclopedia has something for them. With so much material on display, the encyclopedia is a browser's delight and members of sub-disciplines will find their interests being pulled towards new undreamt of areas of volcanology as they flick through the pages. It's difficult to stop reading it...All science libraries should have a copy."
--Stephen Blake, Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, IAVCEI News

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